I, the Open and Relational None
Is there space for me?
Dear Open and Relational friends,
There is so much about your movemernt that inspires me.
I do not identify as a Christian or Jew or Muslim, as a Buddhist or Hindu or Bahai. I know that some of you belong to these traditions, and I am happy for you. I especially appreciate the sense of community this offers you. But I find community in other places: at home, among friends at the local coffee shop, in a local women's group that means a lot to me, and in several volunteer associations I'm part of. I think of myself as spiritually interested and socially engaged, but not religiously affiliated. I am not even a Unitarian. Some call me a None. If this is a good designation, I think of myself as an open and relational None. Or at least I'd like to think of myself this way. I'd like to part of your family.
On the one hand, I am inspired by the open and relational view of the world quite apart from the question of God, I, too, believe in an improvisational universe with something like creativity going all the way down into the depths of matter. I, too, believe that the future is not pre-determined, not by God and not by the laws of physics. I, too, believe that everything is alive with feeling and energy in some way. Like you, I believe that all living beings deserve respect and care. LIke you, I believe that we are all connected to one another and that the animals and plants, the hills and rivers, are our extended family. I, too, believe that love is what life is, or should be, about. I understand that there is a Christian thinker, John Wesley, who believed that the purpose of life is to grow into a perfection of love. That makes sense to me. A friend teasingly calls me a Wesleyan None. Maybe so?
I also believe in the God of love. For me this God is best understood, not as a cosmic self or person, but more like an energy or force. I don't belittle people who think of God as an eternal companion, but it doesn't make sense to me. I think of God as kind of like gravity, a force of love and beauty, of creative transformation. I don't address God as You, but feel God's presence in many different ways.
Like you I also appreciate the spiritual side of life, but I think spirituality can be be separated from belief in God. It can be found in awe, kindness, humility, gratitude, wonder, listening, a sense of beauty. and zest for life. These qualities of heart and mind are, for me, what spirituality is about. It is emotional intelligence and ermbodied wisdom in daily life. I know many people who are deeply spiritual but who don't believe in God or who don't find such belief important. Some speak of them as secular. Whatever the terms, they are very good people. Many of them, too, are Wesleyan Nones in the sense that they think life is about love.
One think I appreciate about your movemement is that it has such a strong ethical commitment: its emphasis on one-on-one acts of kindness and care, its willingness to listen to others and be changed by them, and its emphasis on community-building. Like the folks at the Cobb Institute in California, I want to help build compassionate communities that are creative, inclusive, diverse, humane to animals, and good for the earth, with no one left behind. I, too, want to help build ecological civilizations. I think that is the great work of our time, and that we Nones need to play our role.
I could say more about all of this, but I think you get the point. I am looking for a family of like-minded friends whom I might join to help build a better world and share a common spirit. Is there a space for people like me in your movement? Is there a space for Nones like me?
Hoping so,
Cynthia
There is so much about your movemernt that inspires me.
I do not identify as a Christian or Jew or Muslim, as a Buddhist or Hindu or Bahai. I know that some of you belong to these traditions, and I am happy for you. I especially appreciate the sense of community this offers you. But I find community in other places: at home, among friends at the local coffee shop, in a local women's group that means a lot to me, and in several volunteer associations I'm part of. I think of myself as spiritually interested and socially engaged, but not religiously affiliated. I am not even a Unitarian. Some call me a None. If this is a good designation, I think of myself as an open and relational None. Or at least I'd like to think of myself this way. I'd like to part of your family.
On the one hand, I am inspired by the open and relational view of the world quite apart from the question of God, I, too, believe in an improvisational universe with something like creativity going all the way down into the depths of matter. I, too, believe that the future is not pre-determined, not by God and not by the laws of physics. I, too, believe that everything is alive with feeling and energy in some way. Like you, I believe that all living beings deserve respect and care. LIke you, I believe that we are all connected to one another and that the animals and plants, the hills and rivers, are our extended family. I, too, believe that love is what life is, or should be, about. I understand that there is a Christian thinker, John Wesley, who believed that the purpose of life is to grow into a perfection of love. That makes sense to me. A friend teasingly calls me a Wesleyan None. Maybe so?
I also believe in the God of love. For me this God is best understood, not as a cosmic self or person, but more like an energy or force. I don't belittle people who think of God as an eternal companion, but it doesn't make sense to me. I think of God as kind of like gravity, a force of love and beauty, of creative transformation. I don't address God as You, but feel God's presence in many different ways.
Like you I also appreciate the spiritual side of life, but I think spirituality can be be separated from belief in God. It can be found in awe, kindness, humility, gratitude, wonder, listening, a sense of beauty. and zest for life. These qualities of heart and mind are, for me, what spirituality is about. It is emotional intelligence and ermbodied wisdom in daily life. I know many people who are deeply spiritual but who don't believe in God or who don't find such belief important. Some speak of them as secular. Whatever the terms, they are very good people. Many of them, too, are Wesleyan Nones in the sense that they think life is about love.
One think I appreciate about your movemement is that it has such a strong ethical commitment: its emphasis on one-on-one acts of kindness and care, its willingness to listen to others and be changed by them, and its emphasis on community-building. Like the folks at the Cobb Institute in California, I want to help build compassionate communities that are creative, inclusive, diverse, humane to animals, and good for the earth, with no one left behind. I, too, want to help build ecological civilizations. I think that is the great work of our time, and that we Nones need to play our role.
I could say more about all of this, but I think you get the point. I am looking for a family of like-minded friends whom I might join to help build a better world and share a common spirit. Is there a space for people like me in your movement? Is there a space for Nones like me?
Hoping so,
Cynthia